HIV Testing in Heatlh Centers

Title. HIV Testing in Health Centers Background. In 2006, CDC estimated that 56,300 new HIV infections occurred in the United States and released their revised recommendations for routine HIV testing. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funded health centers are critical to successfully reducing the number of new HIV infections because they provide health services to populations that are disproportionately affected by HIV. However, HRSA estimates that only 3.5 percent of patients were tested in health centers in 2007. Methods. We will select a random sample of 350 health center service sites. We will survey health center service site directors regarding their HIV testing practices. Health center medical consent forms, grantee applications, and written HIV testing policies will supplement the surveys. Results. We will determine health centers' HIV testing practices, the extent to which outside recommendations influence health centers' practices and written policies for HIV testing and the extent to which factors, such as State laws, funding, or technical assistance, influence health centers' practices for HIV testing. Conclusion. We will describe HIV testing practices of HRSA funded health centers, and the factors that health centers staff report influence their decisions regarding HIV testing practices. We will give more information regarding why only 3.5 percent of health center patients are tested. We will gauge the extent to which health center HIV testing practices align with the 2006 CDC recommendations for routine HIV testing or if they align with more traditional models of testing.